Thursday, February 6, 2014

Last January 30, 2014, Coca-Cola Philippines, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), and Habitat for Humanity have teamed-up to campaign for a volunteer round-up and donation drive towards Yolanda-recovery, dubbed RebuildPH.

The tripartite movement takes inspiration from the kindness of the Filipino people. Motivated by the idea that no action is too small to make a difference, Coca-Cola has been helping raise awareness and public participation in the rebuild efforts, while Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity serve as recipients of monetary and in-kind donations culled in the process.

Guillermo Aponte, General Manager of Coca-Cola Philippines, says “If there is one lesson learnt from Typhoon Yolanda - is that no act is too small. Rebuilding rests in the hands of every one of us, not merely a few. This is what our campaign RebuildPH is all about, and we hope that through this campaign by Coca-Cola, Habitat for Humanity Philippines and the Philippines Red Cross, the Filipino people and the global community will continue to be inspired to volunteer and donate. We have a long way to go and a lot still needs to be done,”.

Right after Typhoon Yolanda struck the country, Coca-Cola immediately brought relief and aid to over 200,000 families through its partnership with the Philippines Red Cross, Department of Social Welfare and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Moreover, the Coca-Cola System has also diverted its advertising resources, including Php10-M worth of cell phone load, to aid survivors of the super typhoon. As part of its rebuilding efforts, Coca-Cola commits to implement its key sustainability programs on education, nutrition, livelihood and water access to Typhoon hit areas.

Its social development arm, Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, also obtained donations amounting to more than Php 4-million from the company's employees, later used in various humanitarian efforts. Coca-Cola also donated more than $2.5 million to aid in the relief operations for Typhoon Yolanda last November.

Among other Coca-Cola assets that have been used for relief are trucks lent to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Red Cross and the Tacloban bottling plant, which was used by UN World Food Program as a warehouse.

Red Cross Chairman Dick Gordon said, “Our partnership with Coca-Cola Philippines has enabled both parties to act fast and send relief after the typhoon struck. With water and other goods ready since September, all we had to act on was logistics,”.

To date, after a full transition from relief to the rebuild stage, there are seven priority sectors identified by the government, namely: Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Negros, Capiz, Aklan, and Palawan that need both humanitarian and resettlement aid.

Earlier in December, Coca-Cola Philippines launched the RebuildPH donation and volunteer portal to gather additional support subsequent to the rechanneling of its committed advertising space to support relief and rebuilding efforts. Those who wish to help may go to www.cokeurl.com/rebuildph.

Prior to the recent partnership with Coca-Cola, Habitat for Humanity has already been acting since November by distributing shelter repair kits and building homes for those affected by the typhoon.

“At present, Habitat for Humanity is targeting to build 30,000 core houses and distribute 30,000 shelter repair kits for Yolanda victims. We want to achieve this in the next three years but it would take an estimated P6-billion for the construction of the core houses alone. We thank Coca-Cola Philippines for taking this endeavour with us, because we certainly won’t be able to do it alone,” says Charlie Ayco, CEO and Managing Director of Habitat for Humanity.

“Yolanda came last November but everyone still remembers it so vividly. Picking up from one of the worst natural disasters in history, it’s going to take a lot of effort from both individuals and big businesses. While our partners have done much already, we’re positive that our teaming together can make an even bigger difference,” adds Dick Gordon, Chairman of the Philippine Red Cross.

Coca-Cola is helping in the rebuild and recovery process of the Philippines, brought about by the typhoon Yolanda. It has embarked on a landmark partnership with Philippine Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and its other partner organizations to rally volunteers, raise money for sustainable rebuild program and community rehabilitation such as rebuilding schools, water systems and infrastructure, and assist small independent customers with reconstruction of their businesses throughout the year.

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